We are just four days away from finding out the winners of the sixth edition of the women’s Volleyball Nations League. But before we get to the medal matches in Bangkok on Sunday, there will be plenty of more excitement in Thailand’s capital with the quarterfinals on Thursday and Friday and the semifinals on Saturday. The quarterfinal line-up shaped up after three weeks of intense action during the Preliminary Phase of VNL 2024.
VNL 2024
Big Bangkok VNL Finals coming up!
The women’s quarterfinals in Thailand serve off on Thursday
Published 09:27, 19 Jun 2024
After their encounter in Fukuoka last week, USA and Italy to meet again in Bangkok
- Watch Volleyball Nations League 2024 live on VBTV
China and Japan will open the event in Bangkok on Thursday, June 20, at 17:00 local time (10:00 UTC), followed by hosts Thailand taking on Brazil at 20:30 (13:30). Friday’s second competition day will open with the quarterfinal between Italy and USA at 17:00 (10:00). The last semifinalist will emerge from the clash between Poland and Türkiye at 20:30 (13:30).
Classic Asian derby to determine the first VNL semifinalist
Asian rivals China and Japan will have the honour of opening the VNL 2024 Finals in Thailand. It will be their second encounter in this year’s competition. When they first met during the Preliminary Phase, Japan produced a 3-1 (25-22, 19-25, 25-18, 25-17) away win during week two in Macao, with outside hitter and captain Sarina Koga leading the way with 25 points, while China’s Li Yingying finished with 23, including three aces. These two players were, in fact, the third and the fourth best scorers of the Preliminary Phase, on 215 and 213 points, respectively. Meanwhile, Japan’s Kotona Hayashi headed the best receivers’ chart, while China’s Diao Linyu emerged on top of the best setters’ ranking. However, China finished the Preliminary Phase higher than their opponents in the final standings, in fourth place on a 9-3 win-loss record and 26 points, leaving Japan behind in fifth on 8-4 and 25. Japan’s recent win put an end to China’s four-game winning streak in the head-to-head series that started back in 2022, at the FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Championship. While Japan’s best VNL result was a fourth place in 2021, China have been on the podiums at three of the previous five editions, with silver in 2023 and bronze in 2018 and 2019.
🇯🇵 JPN vs. 🇨🇳 CHN - Highlights | Week 2 | Women's VNL 2024
Thailand and their fantastic fans to take on mighty Brazil
For the fantastic home crowd in Bangkok, the game between their favourites and the world’s number one team Brazil will be the highlight of the quarterfinals. They will try to help Thailand overcome their underdog status and tackle the team that is yet to lose a game in this edition of the VNL. The Asian squad was one of the 12 opponents the South Americans beat during the Preliminary Phase to top the table on 12-0 and 34. The two sides met during competition week two in Macao and Brazil mastered a 3-0 (25-22, 25-14, 25-17) sweep with 13 points from outside and captain Gabriela Guimaraes (Gabi) against a 14-point match high from Thailand’s Chatchu-On Moksri. The Brazilian roster also features one of the two leaders of the best blockers’ chart of the Preliminary Phase, Ana Carolina Da Silva (Carol). Thailand, who qualified for the VNL as the host nation, finished the Preliminary Phase in 13th place on 3-9 and 7. History also confirms Brazil’s status of favourites to win this match. In fact, they have won 23 of the previous 24 encounters with the Asian opponent at major international competitions, with Thailand’s only victory dating back to the 2017 FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix. The South American team has so far won three VNL medals, all silver, in 2019, 2021 and 2022.
🇧🇷 BRA vs. 🇹🇭 THA - Highlights | Week 2 | Women's VNL 2024
World’s number two against reigning Olympic champs in Friday’s opener
Now that’s a game with a completely unpredictable outcome – Italy vs USA – the number two team in the FIVB World Ranking against the reigning Olympic champions! These two powerhouses will open Friday’s competition day in Bangkok. They met just last week in Fukuoka, Japan and the Italians achieved a 3-1 (25-17, 19-25, 25-15, 25-21) victory with a 23-point match high from star opposite Paola Egonu, but that was Italy’s only second win within the seven most recent encounters with the Americans. USA lead the historic head-to-head against Italy by 24-20 in wins at major international competitions. Both USA and Italy are among the three previous VNL champions, with the Americans winning the titles of the first three editions in 2018, 2019 and 2021, and the Europeans triumphant in 2022. Italy advanced to the VNL Finals as Preliminary Phase runners-up on 10-2 and 31, while the United States finished the first stage in seventh place, just above the cut-off for Bangkok, on 7-5 and 22. But with Tokyo 2020 Olympic MVP Jordan Larson’s inspirational presence on the court, on the opposite sides of the net with Egonu, the spot in the VNL semifinals seems impossible to call.
🇮🇹 ITA vs. 🇺🇸 USA - Highlights | Week 3 | Women's VNL 2024
2023 medallists Türkiye and Poland head to head in last quarterfinal
Defending VNL champions and reigning European champions Türkiye will take on 2023 VNL bronze medallists Poland in a duel for the last remaining vacancy in the 2024 semifinals. So, this year only one of them will have a shot at making the podium. It will be the first time Türkiye and Poland meet this season as they did not go face to face during the Preliminary Phase. Their most recent encounter was also a quarterfinal, but at the 2023 CEV European Championship, when Türkiye mastered a straight-set win. Before that, in the VNL 2023 Preliminary stage, Poland shut out Türkiye to put an end to the opponents’ eight-game winning streak in head-to-head matches at major international competitions. In this year’s Preliminary Phase, Poland occupied third place on 10-2 and 30, while, spearheaded by VNL 2023 and EuroVolley 2023 MVP Melissa Vargas, Türkiye finished sixth on 8-4 and 25. Vargas was once again on fire and topped both the best scorers’ and the best attackers’ rankings for the first stage of VNL 2024.
